Huron singer ready for big break

Country singer Steve Brownell has been working toward this moment for decades.

With his debut solo album "No Matter What" already recorded, the Huron resident is hoping his future is bright. "We've been kind of beating around in the bushes and trying to make something happen here for quite a few years," Brownell said. "And we finally have a project done and in the can. So now, it's a matter of getting it into the right hands of some of the major labels and seeing if they'll run with it down there."

Currently being pitched to Nashville record labels, the 10-track album falls squarely into today's contemporary country vein. Naturally, Brownell, a Lake Erie islands musical legend known to be the life of the raucous party, is anxious.

"Oh sure, you're always nervous," Brownell said. "You're always worried that it's not going to be good enough and it's not marketable. Three out of the 10 songs on the album I wrote, and that's always a daunting task, trying to figure out if the songs are good enough and if people are going to enjoy them. I guess the big thing is if people buy the album, and that's what we're hoping for."

Brownell calls the entire album process a "labor of love." In total, he listened to more 600 songs from Music City songwriters in hopes of finding special melodies and catchy hooks that could help propel his career into the national spotlight.

Perhaps some readers may be wondering why he didn't record an entire album full of his own material for his debut.

"A good singer can sing a bad song, but by the time he's done, it's still a bad song," Brownell said. "So you really have to start with good material and move forward from there. And like anything else, I know what I'm good at. I can sing and I can play guitar but I'm not the greatest songwriter."

He added, "There are people who hone their craft and write a song a day for 20 or 30 years down in Nashville and those are the ones that we have access to all of their material. So, you find a lyrical hook that really touches you or means something special and then you jump in the studio and put your own twist on it."

That's exactly what Brownell feels he did with his album "No Matter What." This includes the title track, which the 37-year-old said was a song Rascal Flatts originally considered recording.

So did he steal a song from the platinum country act?

"I suppose in a sense you could say that," laughed Brownell, "but we gave them the opportunity and then they ultimately declined on the song."

No matter what the future holds for Brownell, he plans on keeping his family - wife-of-nearly-20-years Lynne, 14-year-old son Cody and 10-year-old daughter Allison - in Ohio.

"Everyone who wants to be a country star, or is aspiring, always moves down to Nashville and they wind up waiting on tables and honing their craft, hoping they get discovered," Brownell said. "But unfortunately there are millions of guys like me down there, so it's difficult to stand out in the crowd. Up here in Ohio, I have more of a chance. I can work quite a bit. So it's really easier to play to a lot of people and get discovered around here as it is to get discovered down in Nashville."

With a sense of momentum in his music career (he averages more than 200 shows a year), the 1987 Perkins High School graduate will spend his winter performing regionally, including an upcoming Nov. 11 date at 34 Degrees in Huron. His set includes plenty of popular covers from the likes of Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw, as well as all the songs found on "No Matter What."

"You'll certainly laugh," Brownell said. "During my live show, I like to cut up a little bit and make fun of people and have them make fun of me and tell jokes and that kind of stuff. You'll certainly be having a good time and be laughing and smiling when you leave. I promise."

John Benson's big break came when Funcoast.com pulled him out of the gutter and turned him into a writer. E-mail John at jbenson@funcoast.com.